Toy airplane



Sept. 17, 1946. M L 2,407,720

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Nov. 2, 1944 Patented Sept. 17, 1946 TOY AIRPLANEArthur B. Mull, Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Spotswood. Specialty Co.Inc., Lexington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application November 2,1944, Serial No. 561,582

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a toy airplane and a catapult and moreparticularly to an airplane and a catapult adapted to be made from sheetmaterial such as paper, cardboard, parchment and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a toy airplane made from lightweight material, easily produced, adapted to be folded for shipment andprojected from a catapult that may be manually manipulated by a child.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become moreapparent from the following description.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the catapult held inthe hand with the airplane shown in the process of launching.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of a blank used as sides for the fuselage,wings and elevators.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the fuselage insert having aportion functioning as a rudder.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the airplane.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a blank used in folding over the nose ofthe airplane, so as to give the nose rigidity and suflicient weight.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the catapult.

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view of the catapult taken substantiallyon the line 7-! of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an exploded View of the catapult.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character l indicates a toyairplane adapted to be launched from a catapult 12.

The center of the toy airplane includes a piece of cardboard l4extending throughout the length of the airplane and having an upwardlyprojecting portion l adapted to function as a rudder. A blank 20, havinga length equal to member I4, is provided with a pair of extensions orWings 22 that function as wings and a pair of lobes or elevators 24adapted to function as elevators for the airplane.

The blank 20 is folded along the line 26 with the lower margin 28 ofmember I4 seated along the fold line 26. The sides 30 of the blank 20are cemented or glued to the sides of member l4, so that the sides 30 ofthe blank 20 form the sides of the fuselage of the airplane. When theblank 20 has been folded along the fold line 26 and cemented to thesides of member M, the wings 22 and the elevators 24 extend parallel tothe sides of the fuselage. The airplane may be shipped in this position.When the airplane is ready for use, the wings 22 are extended atsubstantially right angles to the sides of the fuselage and so are thelobes or elevator portions 24. In order to properly balance the toyairplane, a reenforcing member 32, provided with a score line 34, isfolded over the nose of the airplane and '2 cemented to the sidesthereof. This provides a ballast, as well as a reenforcing member,causing the airplane to be projected with the nose in the lead.

The rear of the airplane is provided with a rubber band-receiving edge36 that is adapted to be engaged by a rubber band 40 mounted in asuitable aperture 42 through a slot 44 in the nose or leading edge ofthe main body portion 46 of the catapult I2. The main body portion 46 isprovided with a trigger finger aperture 48 and a handle portion 50extending downwardly, so that the catapult simulates a pistol.

The rear end of the catapult proper is provided with a shoulder 52 thatfunctions as a stop or an abutment for the rear end of the aircraft whenin position to be catapulted. A pair of side members 54 is cemented tothe main body portion of the catapult, so as to cooperate with thecatapult to form a channel 56 receiving the airplane when in readinessto be launched or projected. The rear ends 58 of member 54 and a rearupper portion 60 of the main body portion 46 cooperate to form a seatfor the rubber band 40, preparatory to the launching of the airplane.

The airplane I0 is launched or projected by placing the main body of theairplane H] in the groove or channel 56, then rolling the thumb up overthe rubber band 40 to release the band, which snaps into engagement withthe rubber band-receiving portion 36 of the airplane to set it inmotion.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement ofparts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generallystated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects setforth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A toy airplane assembly including a cardboard stiffening member providedwith an extension the main body member so as to function as a.

functioning as a rudder, a cardboard main body member folded along thebottom of the stiffening member so as to have the sides thereofoverlying and cemented to the sides of the stiffening member, the lengthof the main body member being substantially the same as the length ofthe stiffening member said main body member having a pair of extensionsfolded at right angles to the sides of the main body. member so as tofunction as coplanar wings, and a second pair of extensions folded alongthe sides of the main body member at right angles thereto functioning ascoplanar elevators, and a cardboard ballast scored. in the center andfolded over the front end of reenforcing member for the nose of theairplane.

ARTHUR B. MULL.

